Mass Effect: The new war
by Doomblade
Summary: A new generation just means new problems. Join the daughter of commander Shepard as she learns the hard way the peace her father fought so hard for will be very short lived. Rated T for language and violence later on (obviously) I do not own mass effect. All credit goes to Bioware for the characters, story etc
1. Chapter 1

**Alrighty! My very first Mass Effect style Fanfiction. Just recently wrapped up playing through the trilogy and their is a huge wealth of material to base fanfics off of. Any feedback given would be greatly appreciated. With that in mind lets begin: The new war**

-**Eden Prime, 20 years after Reaper defeat-**

Elisa Shepard slowly made her way down the narrow pathways of the colony where she had lived since she was born. She was running late for dinner with her mother and she always knew how that went. " Your father was always bad about being late blah blah blah" she chuckled to herself as she drew closer. "Hey! Elisa!" a voice called to her. She turned around to see Devin Taylor running up to her. His face was soaked in sweat as he stopped beside her. She waited paitently for him to catch his breath.

"When your done with your mom, you need to get back to the barracks ASAP. " he said. She must have had a confused look because he nodded. "I know Im confused too. This is supposed to be our leave week, but the command seemed real spooked about something and  
I aint in the mood to put up with the reprimand I'd get for questioning it. The guy who passed the order down is straight from Alliance high command." He said with a edge of nervousness to his voice. Elisa sighed but nodded.

"Alright I'll try to be quick but you know my mom." She said softly. Devin nodded and jogged back in the direction of his home. Now she was worried. Ever since the huge war before she was even born, the galaxy had been mostly quiet. The Krogan, hell even the Rachni had settled down. The Krogan given a new world, the Rachni taking toxic Tuchanka, neither had much excuse to wage war on the other races anymore. What could be so important someone from high command was moving troops around? She was so wrapped into this thought she almost past her mothers house. "Elisa Lynn Shepard what time did I say over the vid?" Elisa groaned.

Her mother, Ashley Williams only chuckled softly. "Relax. Im just teasing. Its not every day you get awaded your first command. Im proud." She smiled. Elisa smiled back as she sat down. Ashley began spooning some food onto a plate for her. "So when are you getting assigned to a real place of action?" she said. Elisa rolled her eyes at that.

"Oh please mom. Knowing my luck My squad will be lucky to break up some bar fights. Things are SO boring in the military these days. Nothing but a buncn of simulations involving enemies wiped out ages ago. I mean I know never say never but...Im pretty sure the Reapers are never coming back..Dad saw to that one personally." she said, her voice lowering sadly. Ashley sat the plate down in front of her and took the seat opposite of the table. She took her daughters hand making her look up.

"Your father would be so proud of you Elisa. His whole life was the military. If he saw how quick you got awarded squad leader in a big colony like this? Trust me...I knew him better than anyone. He'd be smiling ear to ear right now. I promise you that. " she said smiling tiredly. It was hard to talk about John in the past sense...even 20 years later. She stood and made her own plate. "And your right. The Reapers are gone, but never forgotten. No race EVER came as close as they did to wiping us off the map. Never hurts to learn from the past." she said sitting down with hers.

Elisa moved some of her black hair out of her eyes. She usually kept it pinned up on duty but hadn't bothered being on leave. She'd have to fix that quick or else her commanding officer would lose it. "Hey mom I've been meaning to ask something...I know its weird and all but its been bugging me for a while." she said. Ashley nodded, a bite of food in her mouth. "Why did you give me dad's last name? I know you two loved each other but...you never got married or anything." Ashley waited a moment before speaking.

"Because...well first off, even after all this time, being a woman and having my last name has never been good for a military career. Trust me. I still get funny looks sometimes. Hate gets passed down the generations thats for sure. But also...I wanted to give you the best chance for success. Your so much your fathers daughter Elisa. I knew you'd want to be in the military. When people find out your THE commander Shepards daughter? Their not going to care as much who I am. " she said. Elisa sighed

"I don't want to be promoted just based off my legacy mom." she said in a low voice. In truth, she'd always felt like she had too many eyes on her because of who her father was. But she understood her mothers intentions. She stood up after they both were done. "I should go. Devin said they've called us all to the barracks. Ashley frowned. "Im sure it's something dumb mom. Like I said, the galaxys all quiet again. " she kissed her cheek and headed off.

"I hope so.." Ashley said going back to her living room

**Barracks area-**

"At ease" Commander Lawson said as he walked inside the area. The troops dropped their salutes and went to at ease stance. Lawson took in a deep breath before speaking. "I know you all were looking forward to spending this week with your families. But...if the reports high command have been getting are correct..were on a collision course with the first conflict in over 20 years. And the Alliance is sitting square in the epicenter."

A general murmer went throught the squads. Elisa was stiff with both fear and uncertainty. This couldn't be true could it? What race could possibly be dumb enough to provoke another conflict? "Sir...all due respect..with the new Galaxy wide laws, how could a war even be a possibility anymore?" she finally spoke up. Lawson rubbed his temple

"I've gotten no answer to that question and believe me I have been asking it a lot. But the way we heard it, the Krogan have been attacked. By Batarian terror cells. The Krogan and Batarians are BOTH mobilizing for full scale conflict. And our living area of space is stuck in the middle. While the Krogan won't purposely harm us without provacation the same can't be said for the Hegemony. And they are a lot closer to us. So all out reaching colonies are on high alert untill further notice. In the twenty years of peace, They've rebuilt rather nicely. The council is urging calm and all that political shit but how often does that work with situations like this? That'll be all. Dismissed. " he said leaving. Elisa and Devin sat down once the room cleared out a bit.

"Elisa...you don't think that it'll come to war will it? I mean, this isn't our fight. It wasn't even the Alliance they attacked. Why would the Batarians want to piss off anyone? Didn't nearly being obliterated twenty years ago teach them anything? I mean-" Elisa held her hand up to silence him. He was her best friend and all, but for crying out loud, could he talk.

"Chill out a little bit. They just said were on high alert. The boy at Archterus and Therum will probably get first crack anyways. I wouldn't worry much." she said managing a small smile. Devin shook his head in amazement. "What?" she asked

"Here we are, possibly about to be smashed against two very pissed off alien races, and your managing to smile. how in the helld do you manage to pull it off Elisa? I mean, does nothing ever rattle you?" he asked. Elisa shrugged and stood up. She headed for the door slowly before turning around and facing him from the doorway. Her smile grew

"Im commander Shepard and Ashley Williams daughter. I can't let the possiblity of fighting get to me. It's in my blood" she winked as she left

**And their we have it! I am very excited to be getting this started. I based this off MY playthrough of the trilogy. obviously Shepard-Ashley was my romance, I picked saving the Krogan, and Rachni. And I went with the red destroy ending for the reaper invasion. Please leave a review guys and i hope you all will look forward to the Series :)**

**Much love,**

**Doomblade**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay so here is chapter two for you guys. I do hope you all enjoy it. **

**-SSV Hong Kong, in orbit around Terra Nova-**

"We would get the most boring posting in Alliance space. What a massive pain in the ass." Travis Jackson said as he made his way down the ships narrow halls. He had heard that their was a conflict brewing with the Batarian and Krogan peoples. Just lovely. Two hard headed as hell races butting heads, and they were caught in the middle. "Let them come. Compared to the reapers, im sure this will look like nothing." he said. His Uncle had fought in the Reaper war. He was killed in the final assault on Earth, serving as his inspiration for even joining the military. He came to the mess hall and quietly grabbed a food tray sitting down beside his squadmate Adam Lundy.

"About time you got your sorry ass out of your bunk." he said nudging his arm. He frowned seeing his scowl. "Jesus, who put a bug up your ass already? Mary hurt your feelings with another prank or what?" Adam asked. Travis picked at his food a little but shook his head. In truth, he was concerned.

"Elisa is being called up to active service. Sounds like command is considering assigning her squad to the Berlin. Adam their currently docked around Horizon, all the way in the Shadow Sea system. I..Im just worried. What happens if this whole thing goes off? She's closer to Krogan space then. And I don't care what the polticians say. If a war starts, their not going to see us as allies. They'll see us as obstacles to get to the Batarians. At best, we'll have to let them fly through our space, leaving us in trouble. At worse, they'll go off on us." he muttered sliding his plate away. Not much of an appetite. Adam sighed and clapped his hand on his shoulder.

"Elisa is a big girl, Travis. I know you guys grew up together, and I get why you'd be worried. Noveria is actually a pretty out of the way system. She would be in more danger if she stayed closer to Batarian space. Some reserves are getting move to the Artemis Tau cluster. That's right on the Batarians doorstep. I feel worse for them, no offense to your concerns. "

Before Travis could respond, the alarms began to sound. "What the hell?" they quickly stood up and, along with the rest of the crew, headed towards their stations. The intercom system clicked on.

"All hands, we have a hostile ship inbound. I repeat, hostile inbound. All hands report to their proper staging areas and prepare for a fight." Their Captain William Vargas said. Adam and Travis exchanged a nervous look before getting to their navigation spots. Travis turned and met the commanders eyes for a moment. "We don't know what kind of ship this is. It's not broadcasting any signals. We do know its on an intercept course with us. And refusing to break off. "

"Should I start prepping the main gun sir?" A crewman said. Vargas shook his head after a moments thought.

"Negative. Mantain present stance unless I give an order. For all we know, this is a civilian ship thats guidance and communication systems have gone haywire. I won't blow a ship out of the sky with such limited intel. " he said, once again opening the com channel. "Unknown ship, this is Alliance cruiser SSV Hong Kong. You are currently on a collision course with our ship. Break off immediately, or send word somehow that you cannot. If neither of these are done, we will take appropriate actions." he said in a firm voice. There was nothing in Adam's headset. Not even static.

"No response sir. Not even background noises. Something isn't right. We should set a new course, because I don't think their getting the message." He gulped when he was met with silence. The ship was only a little smaller than their own. It had no gun, near as he could see but still, a ship that size coming at them like this made a chill run through him.

"Sir, the ship hasn't moved an inch. Requesting permission to move sir." Travis asked this. Again he was denied. This was growing to become very nervewracking. "Sir, all due respect this isn't the time to be calling someones bluff. We need to consider the lives of the crew above all else." he said. The commander thought it over one last time but sighed a bit, relenting with a nod. Travis began typing in the ships new course. "Changing bearing heading to our west, all crew prepare for shift. " he said. After confirming however he saw something on his screens that made him grow pale. "Sir, the unknown ship has changed its bearing to match our new one." he said hurriedly. At that, Vargas eyes narrowed.

"Then they know what their doing. All power to the main gun. Issue one final warning, Lundy. If it is not headed, we will fire. " he ordered taking his seat. Adam nodded and booted up the channel.

"Unknown vessel, be advised we have begun charging forward battery. If you have not broken off your advance by the time it is charged you will be shot down. Send word, or change course immediately. " he said. After a few minutes of nothing he closed it. "Nothing sir. Not a peep out of the crew. Are we even sure there IS a crew on there? Rouge VI autopiolit? " he suggested quickly.

"We've already scanned. A full crew worth of heat signatures. Main gun at 85% Captain." the weapons operator said. Vargas nodded. Moments later a green light clicked on indicating the vessel had sent a hail. Adam quickly answered. Vargas saw all the remaining color drain from his face. Adam flicked on the speaker.

"In the name of the Batarian Hegemony we strike you down" came the voice of the enemy captain. Vargas turned to the weapons crew.

"Fire at will!" he ordered. The main gun crackled as it shot off it's first volley. The anitmatter round slammed into the ship, tearing a hole in the thin lower plating. A few seconds later another shot, this time to the left wing. It splintered and broke away after a couple shots. The ship began to drift, exposing the right side. The next one pierced the center of it, causing the ship to begin to splinter in half. Vargas relaxed a bit. "We should be out of shockwave range...but barely. Relay a message to command and tell them what we-" his words caught in his throat. As the ship finally cracked apart, there was a huge flash of white light, nearly blinding. A massive shockwave slammed into the Hong Kong. All at once, the systems began shutting down. "No..." he said softly.

"I can't get anything to respond, my navigation is shot!" Travis called out franctically trying to restore power. He tried the reserve power cells and found they were gone. "Shit...all boards are in the black over here!" he said, his voice rising in pitch. Adam shook his head and threw his headset down.

"Comm systems are out. I can't connect to a comm bouy from here anymore. Which means we can't get a message to the fleets. So were stuck here until another Alliance vessel get's here to relieve us. " he muttered. The ship suddenly lurched and it slowly began drifting down. "Oh shit...the mass effect field generators are out...theres nothing keeping us in orbit!"

"Get the damn life pods activated!" someone shouted

"Their not responding! " another memeber yelled trying frantically to get the life pod doors to open from his console. The ship began sinking faster and faster. Travis figured they had five minutes before they hit the top layer of Terra Nova's atmosphere. If they were lucky, the thick plating would keep them from burning alive. Impact would be another story. Vargas gave the order for everyone to brace as best they could.

"You always griped about not having enough excitement, huh Travis? Well congrats, now were all probably going to die." Adam said getting underneath his console. Travis didn't respond. As they hit the top layer and sunk into it, the velocity rose and the ship began to rattle around. The pressure began to tear at the hull, filling all their ears with awful wrenching sounds as the metal was tugged away in sheets. The primary layer was the worst. Travis felt himself lifted up and slammed into the floor. He blacked out, hearing Adam call to him in a panicked voice.

**Ill be updating again today so i hope you all liked this chapter and will look forward to the next one :)**

**Please review, if you want too. **

**Much love,**

**Doomblade**

"


	3. Chapter 3

**As promised, here is chapter 3**

**-Citadel 2 days later-**

"This is an absolute outrage! The Batarian Hegemony has been a rouge state. A thorn in our side for decades. Now, we finally give them a little leway for their role in helping against the reapers and what has been our reward? They incite terror cells within the new Krogan territories in the Traverse! Threatning what has always been a very fragile peace. And now? They have blatantly attacked and destroyed and Alliance cruiser. This affront cannot go unpunished!" The Aliiance Rear Admiral shouted. The Human counciler, Daniel Trask, held up a hand to quiet him. "Councilman, please." he begged.

"This council fully understands your anger Admiral. Unfortunately, the only witnesses we have to the message that it was a Batarian ship are less than reliable. Most of the crew of the Hong Kong perished in the re-entry on Terra Nova. "Those who remain are far from healthy enough to reccount the events." The Turian counciller said.

"Garvik is correct. And even if it were an issue of the Batarians, they remain outside of Citadel Council space. We cannot intervene until their has been a direct threat from the Hegemonys government towards a council world. The word of mouth of a now dead starship captain is far from a credible source." The Asari councilwoman spoke next. The Salarian merely nodded. The Admiral heaved a frustrated sigh and turned around, beginning to walk away.

"Figures. The council has never been anything more than a bunch of weak, pathetic fools. The galaxy would be a better place without you pompous assholes" he growled as he departed the chambers. The council faced Daniel who shook his head at the Admirals behavior.

"You'll have to excuse him. He had a family memeber aboard the Hong Kong. A stepson I believe. At any rate, we've sent a few reserve units from Eden Prime to oversee further recovery efforts on Terra Nova. Near as we can tell, 70% of the crew is gone. Those are just the ones we can confirm. Of the missing well...we don't have a clue. They could have landed anywhere. But I assure you Councilers, we are well in control of the efforts. " he said. Garvik nodded.

"Good. I wasn't sure if this was headed toward another donation or not. What concerns me is how the Associate Assembly will vote on this matter. The Minor races have always been fairly anti-Batarian. If even one family memeber of a dead sailor gets its proposal heard, were likely to face an even further uphil battle than we believed in solving this peacefully." he said.

"The Associates Assembly was a foolish Idea. a half-cocked thank you to the smaller races who were bitter they had no voice in council affairs. Frankly im disgusted we chose to uphold it. " The Salarian counciler said. Daniel shook his head.

"Just like a Salarian to think any race you deem lower than you having a voice as a bad thing. Look, the lessons we learned from the Reaper war were simple. We all need to stick together and not let old grudges tear the galaxy apart. We were spared from the brink of ahnihalation by the sacrfices of those men and women of ALL races. How would it look if we didn't uphold the decision? 'Hey thanks to your ancestors for helping save all organic life but you don't get a say in government anymore' ?" he said.

"I am merely saying that allowing them free reign to act like a bunch of bleeding hearts is slowing down our process. Everytime we turn down a proposal, the rejected delegate just goes to the Associate Assembly to send it back up here for 'further review'. Such A waste of resources and manpower."

"Enough. Let us adjourn now. "The Asari said. The council memebers nodded and made their way out of their chambers. On his way back to his office, Daniel saw General Joesph Zhukov and an Alliance soldier approach him. Daniel shook his hand and nodded towards the girl who saluted him quickly.

"It's been a long time Joseph. How are you finding things on Noveria? Your men wanting reassigned yet?" he joked. Joesph chuckled a little bit as the made their way into the office. Daniel motioned for them to sit and they did so. "And who is this? Another candidate for spectre? You know were not choosing any at this time." he said.

"No. I actually brought her along to see if we could...move her unit somewhere besides where it was supposed to be going. Now I know it's odd. But if this whole thing goes south, I want her team on the front. Not backing up some rearguard. Trust me, we'll need her there." he said. Daniel checked over the face of the soldier. Cool as ice, not a hint of emotion.

"And why do you think that number one, her unit deserves special preference? Then number 2, why would I take resources away fromt he Shadow Sea system? You forget were expecting issues with the Krogan too? They were the first ones attacked." he said.

"Simple Counciler. While the Krogan may become an issue later, they have not directly struck an Alliance vessel. The Batarians have. I know you have to put on a big act for the other council members. But Deep down I think you know that this really was all the Batarians fault. It's all too coiencidental for me. And her squad is one of the best we have. Please just trust me." he urged. Daniel thought it over. He stared at her now.

"What do you have to say about all this? What's your name and rank even?" he asked.

"Captain Elisa Shepard. And I think if this war happens the way Im thinking it will, I want first crack at those Batarian bastards. That is what I'm thinking. I want them to know you don't mess with my friends, my fellow soldiers, my race even and expect me or any of us to take it lying down. That is what I think. Sir. " she said. That was all he needed to hear.

"I'll get the transfer authorized. Just be sure your ready." he said. The two stood to leave. When they reached the door he cleared his throat making her turn around. "Just one last thing Shepard. Go out there and give them hell like only your family can. Make us proud."

Elisa saluted him, a smile on her face. "Aye sir. That was the plan." she said. And with that she was gone.

**I hope you all enjoyed it.**

**Much love, Doomlade**


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